here's to the young and hopeful
by IndigoHailstorm
Summary: Playing guitar on the streets for tips was not a lifestyle preferred by Gray Fullbuster, but the appearance of a new blue haired 'good luck charm' just might change his perspective on things. Because they're both young and hopeful, which means anything is possible.


**note: **

**I've had this unfinished story lying around for ages now, and I finally got around to sitting down and finishing it. So this is a modern AU, in which Juvia does not speak in third person, and it's all pretty ooc. But hey, I guess that's why it's an AU. Hopefully you'll like it anyways.**

* * *

Gloomy weather draped in a thin fog and laced with a chill had taken over the city seemingly overnight, emptying the usually bustling streets to a point where it was pitiful. This of course did absolutely nothing to help the young man sitting on a stool under a torn awning strumming his guitar. Occasionally, drops of water would find its way through the split seams of the awning, landing directly on the man beneath it, much to his annoyance. Yes indeed, it was yet another shitty day in the life of Gray Fullbuster.

Lacking a substantial job after his asshole of a boss fired him, he was currently in search of a new job, and played guitar on street corners to earn some money so he wouldn't starve to death. So these were his 'only means of survival' from his rather dramatic perspective, and that was only if he was lucky enough to find a shop owner kind enough to not tell him to, "Stop loitering outside of my store," or "Get the hell off my property," or even "Your homeless aura is driving away my customers," like _some _people had the nerve to do. I mean honestly, he was just playing guitar outside of a shop, not harassing people for money and causing trouble. Damn overly cautious society.

He sighed and cursed under his breath as he glanced around at the near empty streets, and continued playing the song he had started. In truth he hated this particular song because it was one of the more difficult songs he knew, and the numbness spreading through his fingertips really wasn't improving his ability to properly play it.

"Damn it." He muttered as his fingers slipped from the strings of the instrument. A man walking by spared him a glance intermingled with pity and superiority before turning his head and continuing on his way. Gray glared after him since the man hadn't even bothered to give him a dollar or something if not for his musical skills, then for the obvious struggle and effort he was putting forth.

Rolling his eyes in acceptance at the man's pompous attitude, he repositioned his fingers on the guitar strings and looked down in concentration. He only looked up some time later as he noticed an elderly couple smile at him and place a few dollars in the jar he was using to collect money. He grinned in appreciation as they walked away. With renewed confidence, Gray played song after song, but no one so much as looked his way, except for a little boy who dug around in his pocket and threw what looked like a button and a quarter into the jar. Nonetheless, Gray thanked him with a smirk.

After nearly an hour of his nonstop performance, he decided to go home for the day. As he lowered his guitar into its case and prepared to pack away everything else, he noticed a girl stepping out of a shop not far away from where he was, and it looked as if she was coming his way. At least that's what he assumed, seeing as he couldn't quite see her through the fog.

_Last chance._ He thought, quickly picking his guitar back up and playing one of his favorite songs. Without realizing it, he had somewhat lost himself in the moment and rhythm of the song, which made him fail to notice that the source of his final efforts was now standing in front of him listening attentively.

"That was really good." The girl said admiringly, causing Gray to sharply look up in surprise. He vaguely realized that this was the girl he had seen moments ago, but what struck him was how little he had seen. Up close she was rather beautiful, and Gray cursed himself for noticing, since this new development had caused a slight blush to spread across his face. Coming out of his thoughts, he turned his head away slightly in an attempt to nonchalantly hide his blush.

"Thanks. If you really liked it that much, maybe you could…" he trailed off as he gestured towards the mostly empty jar that people (not many, but still some) had been placing money in.

"Ah, I would, but I left my money at home." She said with a frown.

"Oh, well that's fine." He grinned, and this time it was Juvia's turn to blush.

"Yeah… By the way, I'm Juvia Lockser." He nodded before they fell into an awkward silence. Juvia looked at him expectantly while he stared back blankly. "And your name is…?" He realized with a start that he hadn't given her his name in return.

"I'm Gray Fullbuster." She smiled in a way that made Gray's heart jump a little.

"Nice to meet you, Gray." She said.

"Yeah, you too." He continued placing his guitar back in its case.

"Are you leaving?" He paused in his motions and looked up at her.

"Yeah, I've been here for hours and haven't really had much luck with tips."

"Wait, it's almost around the hour most people have dinner. There's going to be lots of people around, so maybe you'll have more luck." She protested. He smirked and looked around at the streets. There weren't many people around still, but there were more than there had been a while ago.

"I don't think I'm gonna get much luck."

She frowned at his lack of optimism and disappeared into the shop behind him. He turned to see what she was doing, but she had gone towards the back of the store. A few moments later she walked back out with a stool identical to the one he was sitting on and set it down beside him. "Then I'll help you."

"How are you going to do that?"

She blinked and took a seat on the stool she had borrowed from the shop. "Simple. You play, I sing."

To say he was surprised was an understatement. He certainly hadn't expected her to offer him assistance in any way. However, Gray managed a nod to show he accepted her offer, and prepared to start playing. "Wait, what song should I play?"

"Just play what you were playing when I first walked up. I like that song." She grinned. "Whenever you're ready."

He quickly positioned his fingers on the guitar and proceeded to play. He nearly slipped up as she began singing in a clear, soft voice. Her voice rose and fell in accordance with the rhythm he was playing, and it seemed to gracefully glide through the song.

Taking the chance of glancing over at her, he tried not to admire the way she seemed to sing from the heart, with a small smile spreading over her face with every word. She was captivating.

Returning his full attention to what he was doing, he continued to play, once again growing oblivious to the world around him. If he had looked up, he would've seen that Juvia had been right, and people were indeed beginning to slowly fill the streets. A small crowd had begun to form around the pair, drawn in by the smooth chords of the guitar and Juvia's sweet voice.

As the song finished, Gray jerked in surprise to hear scattered applause from the various people who had stopped to listen. Almost all of them paused to contribute something to his tip jar before moving on.

Juvia turned and faced him with a satisfied smile on her lips. "See?" She reached down and picked up the tip jar before handing it to him. "I told you people would come and listen."

Gray stared at the jar in his hand for a moment before looking up at Juvia. "You're beautiful."

Her eyes widened and a blush instantly spread across her cheeks.

"Er, I mean your voice!" he said quickly, "Your voice is beautiful! When you were singing I mean! It was great, and you know, beautiful!" He internally cringed at his rambling.

"Thank you." She smiled shyly and turned away slightly before clearing her throat. "Well um, I guess I should go now… I'm glad I could help you out though."

She made a move to stand, but Gray leaned over and caught her arm, making her draw in a sharp breath of surprise.

"Hold on a second, um," He briefly cleared his throat in an attempt to get some of his voice's usual confidence back before continuing. "You seem to be my good luck charm. Maybe we could… do something like this again sometime?"

He tried to not let his anxiety show as she paused for a moment, and he was able to relax as a smile found its way onto her face. "Yeah… I'd like that a lot." She fidgeted with the hem of her skirt as she spoke. As he took note of this, he realized he found that little hint of shyness somewhat endearing. Almost… cute. It had been a while since Gray had thought that way about any girl.

"How would you like to discuss when we could do this again over coffee? Unless you still have to go."

"No, I'm not in a rush or anything." She said quickly. "I'd actually really enjoy that. Coffee sounds nice."

Gray grinned as he stood up and offered Juvia his hand. "Shall we then?"

A brief look of amazement appeared on her face, and she fixed her eyes on his outstretched hand for a moment until she seemed to snap out of her daze. Her smile widened as she met his eyes and took his hand so he could help her up. Her tone turned playful as she responded, and Gray swore to himself that he'd never fallen so quickly for a girl before in his life until now.

"We shall."

* * *

**note:**

**I liked writing an AU. Expect more stuff like that from me in the future. So how was that? Good? Bad? Should I keep this as a one shot or would any of you are to read more? Feedback is much appreciated, so please leave a review for me~ Also, next week I have exams and then after that I get out for summer, so I'm going to try to write more starting then! And I'm going to finish those Gruvia week prompts. I swear to it. xD Thank you guys~**

**Until Then.**


End file.
